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Saturn
By: Sydney Fitzsimmons
What is Saturn?
Saturn is the second largest planet in the solar system
It’s rings are made of chunks of ice and rock
Saturn is mostly made up of hydrogen and helium
Saturn has 53 confirmed and 9 provincial moons
Fifth in our solar system
36,184 mi long
Characteristics of Saturn
Saturn can be seen by the naked eye
Flattest planet in the Solar System
Orbits the sun once every 29.4 Earth years
Upper atmosphere is divided into bands of clouds
Oval shaped storms (similar to Jupiter)
Saturn’s Rings
Galileo was the first person to see Saturn’s rings in 1610
Rings are made up of ice and rock
Some pieces vary in sizes; grain of sand - house
Unsure on how the rings originated
Could be broken pieces of it’s moons
Far away, looks like there’s 7 rings
Some close together, some having gaps between them
Rings circle around at v high speeds
Saturn’s Appearance
Center is rock, water, ice, and other compound elements
Enveloped by liquid metallic hydrogen
No true surface
Swirly gases
Less dense than water
Blanketed with clouds, storms and striped
Saturn’s Atmosphere
75% hydrogen
25% helium
Other traces of methane, water and ice
Windiest planet in the solar system
1800 km/h at the equator
Violent white storms appear, each bigger than Earth itself
Place in the Solar System
888.2 million miles from the Sun
Outer planet
A day for saturn is 10 hours and 39 minutes
Saturn’s Rotation
Different parts of the planet rotate at different speeds
Visible features rotate at different rates depending on their latitude
Measured Saturn’s magnetic field by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft in 2004
System I rotation speed is 10 hours and 14 minutes. Above and below the
Equatorial Belt is called System II. Here the rotation speed is 10 hours and 39
minutes.
Rotates West to East
Counterclockwise
Discovery of Saturn
First observation was through a microscope by Galileo in 1610
Bad telescope; could not see or determine rings
Dutch astronomer Christiaan Huygens observed saturn in
1659
“Arms” of saturn; system of rings
First to discover Saturn’s moon, Titan
Top Facts about Saturn
Least dense planet in the solar system
“Flattened ball”
Only been visited by 4 spacecrafts
Total of 64 moons
Saturn’s rings could be old and young
Rings often disappear
Saturn is visible to the naked eye
There’s a possibility for life on one of Saturn’s moons, Enceladus
Works Cited
http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/saturn
http://space-facts.com/saturn/
https://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/k-4/stories/nasa-knows/ring-a-round-the-saturn.html
http://www.universetoday.com/15418/interesting-facts-about-saturn/
http://www.space.com/18479-how-big-is-saturn.html